Sunday, April 24, 2011

It’s been a strange weekend, remembered through a haze of afternoon drinking and sleeping to relieve the awful pain of downtown clothes shopping. There was a strangely cocktail-less social event as well. And then I came home dazed and confused, opened the fridge and remembered with a shock that I had bought all this exotic citrus that I had to use up before it went bad. So I reached for a bottle of rum—two actually.

Friday, April 22, 2011

Another good end to a good bottle this week: Kuchan Indian Blood Peach eau-de-vie. I was planning to use only cognac for this julep, but remembered had about an ounce left of the peach just sort of sitting around so I gave half an ounce each to two drinks. I guess that makes it marginally a Georgia Julep. (David Wondrich and Doctor Cocktail both give the original proportions for the Georgia as half of each.)

Brandy Julep

2 1/2 oz cognac

1/2 oz peach eau-de-vie

1/2 oz simple syrup

6 mint leaves

Break mint leaves and drop them in a julep cup or double rocks glass. Muddle lightly with a little of the syrup. Add remaining ingredients and crushed ice to fill and swizzle. Garnish with plenty of mint.SOURCE: COMPOSITE

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Looking for a Rum Manhattan recipe, I thought about the Pirate’s Cocktail but it seemed too rich with dark rum except maybe as a nightcap. The white rum variations were too light. 10 Cane seem about right but my bottle was nearly empty, so I topped it off a little with Mount Gay figuring you can’t go wrong.

Since I was already playing with odds and ends, I went with a dash of Cointreau instead of the bitters, and a Meyer lemon twist for spice—definitely Manhattan-like and yet sort of tropical too.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Last night on the way home I bought a bottle of Lustau East India Solera, a rich, complex sherry that paired nicely with the Hacienda Vieja tequila I happened to have around. The East India is a great ingredient in this drink, though that bottle of Harveys will work fine.

Monday, April 18, 2011

I went agricole shopping on Thursday evening and came home with white Rhum J.M, a bright, funky 100-proof from Martinique. Intense stuff. It probably could have handled even more maraschino than I gave it. More lime too.

Martinique Rum Daiquiri

2 oz white Martinique rum

1/2 oz maraschino liqueur

3/4 oz lime juice

1/4 oz simple syrup

Shake with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.SOURCE: COMPOSITE

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Now the rainman gave me two curesThen he said, “Jump right in”The one was Texas medicineThe other was just railroad gin—Bob Dylan, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again

My third Zirbenz cocktail and the most interesting so far. The pine combines well with Campari, bringing out its herbal notes. I liked the touch of peat smoke on the last one so I gave this one an Ardbeg rinse too.

Medicine Show

1 1/2 oz gold Barbados rum

1/2 oz Campari

1/4 oz Zirbenz Stone Pine liqueur

Ardbeg (rinse)

Coat chilled cocktail glass with a small amount of Ardbeg or other Islay malt. Combine rum, Campari and Zirbenz with ice and shake. Strain into prepared glass.SOURCE: ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

Thursday, April 14, 2011

An Old-Fashioned of sorts, but tough and mean with a bite on the finish. I’m still trying to get a feeling for how over-the-top I can go with the stone pine liqueur, but the housemate was favorable, describing this one as bracing and boozy.

Dan McGrew

2 oz bourbon

1/2 oz Zirbenz Stone Pine Liqueur

1 dash Fee Bros Whiskey Barrel Aged Bitters

Ardbeg rinse

Stir bourbon, Zirbenz and bitters with ice. Coat the sides of a chilled glass with a small amount of Ardbeg or other very peaty malt. Strain the bourbon mixture into the prepared glass. Small lemon twist.SOURCE: ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Another Tiki from the hands of yours truly, a pairing of fresh banana and coffee brandy that should please even the most sophisticated primates. The bass note in this one is Cruzan Black Strap, a hint of tobacco for this smoking jacket.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Many thanks to Chris, a.k.a. DJ HawaiianShirt of Spirited Remix for hosting this Mixology Monday. Chris wants us to post our best, and while I’m not sure which of mine I’d single out, the Lava-Lava is the one I liked working on best. I’ve made it by the pitcher for parties (limit: one pitcher per guest) and it’s a lot of fun. It calls for amber Martinique rum though another dry, woodsy amber like Flor de Caña 5 Year would be fine. For the mango, I developed the recipe around Looza, though it was great with one from somewhere in South America or someplace, maybe—can’t remember and never saw it again.

Lava-Lava

1 1/2 oz amber Martinique rum

1 oz dark Jamaica rum

1/2 oz apricot brandy

3 oz mango nectar

3/4 oz fresh orange juice

2 dashes Angostura Bitters

Shake with ice cubes and pour into a tall glass or mug.SOURCE: ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

I know it‘s early for Monday but he’s gonna try to taste them before the wrap-up. Urp.

Monday, April 4, 2011

The housemate was headed off to a Roman holiday, which inspired me to make this for a dinner shortly before he left. Gin and orange again—I just can’t stay away. The port gives this a sangria feeling though it’s got some bitterness from the Cynar.

Rites of Bacchus

1 1/2 oz gin

3/4 oz port

1/4 oz Cynar

3/4 orange juice

1 dash Angostura Orange Bitters

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.SOURCE: ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE

Seems like it would be good for sipping while looking at one of those rude wine gods they liked in the Italian Baroque. Speaking of Cynar, Caravaggio once threw a plate of artichokes at a waiter.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

And now for some brown booze in something really boozy. A cocktail that’s really about that smack in the head. For inspiration I just bought a bottle of Zirbenz Stone Pine liquor, which I’ve had several times in rum and rye drinks to good effect. I’m trying to figure out what it goes in. I won’t kid you—it tastes like a tree. This seemed at first like a cool characteristic for a liqueur and still does. It’s just that I want to understand how to make it play nicely with other flavors so that my guests don’t think it’s weird.

Which it is, a bit. But I like it. I want to show it off in all its weirdness. So let’s see—a little rye, a little ginger beer... a little falernum and this would taste exactly like pine cleanser. And not that boozy really.

OK—how about this one?

Forest Murmurs

2 oz calvados

1/4 oz Zirbenz Stone Pine liqueur

1/4 oz pimento dram

Stir with ice and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Lemon twist.SOURCE: ROWEN, FOGGED IN LOUNGE